March 8 is International Women's Day, a holiday established to commemorate the campaign for women's rights. Societies everywhere also celebrate the important contributions of women in the economic, political and social spheres on International Women's Day.
Female tattoo artists and their work are very important in the field of tattooing. Some studies have shown that for creative and emotional expression, female tattoo artists are more expressive. Female clients can be more relaxed and feel more comfortable when dealing with a female tattoo artist.
We briefly interviewed three female tattoo artists from the EMALLA Pro Team to see their work and their experiences.
@javieramarlo from Chile
Q: Hello Javiera, please give us a brief introduction of your career experience. Why did you choose tattooing as your career in the first place?
A:While I was studying illustration, tattooing caught my attention and it goes quite well with my career. I like the contact with people and being able to create unique pieces for them
Q:According to the data, in 2010, female tattooists represented only 14.16% of tattooists; in 2021, this figure rose to 24.96%. Since you became a professional tattooist and until now, have you experienced any obstacles due to your gender and, if so, could you please tell us exactly what it is?
A:My interest in tattooing started when I was 15 years old, at that time (10 years ago) the tattoo circle was much more closed and dominated by men, it was difficult to access to information and being a woman and also a teenager, the circle was even more closed.
Today I feel that I have not had obstacles to develop in tattooing, maybe because it is more common to see women tattoo artists and the guild is more varied. Even so, I feel that women are still in the background when it comes to tattooing. In most of the conventions the juries are always men and there are a lot of female tattooists with excellent work.
Q:One last question, as mentioned above, the percentage of women tattooists is increasing every year, so please say a few words to women who want to be tattooists, including those who are apprenticing or planning to become tattooists.
A:Don't give up! Tattooing is a slow process, both learning and executing it. It can be very frustrating at the beginning, but you have to persist and make your space in the field 💥 we have nothing to prove to anyone but ourselves, that we are capable of anything we set our minds to :-)
Tattoos by @javieramarlo
@amaltheatattoos from Australia
Q:Hello Silvia, please give us a brief introduction of your career experience. Why did you choose tattooing as your career in the first place?
A:I have started drawing as I was a little kid, always been in to art and creative activities in general. I was very talented with colours, so my mum pushed me a lot to keep exploring my skills, even letting me draw my bedroom walls. Growing up I kept drawing but I started first a career as an architect, after studying at University in Rome (Italy). After just a couple of years I felt that was not the right path for me because my creative skills were not implemented much. At that time I was designing tattoos on demand, but just drawing them. After spending 1 year in New Zealand and being in touch with the Maori culture, I started feeling a deep connection with the tattoo art, as I saw in it the possibility to sharing my art with people and also having a more meaningful day by day human interaction. So I decided to start an apprenticeship in Australia, Melbourne, and the feeling of connection with the tattoo tools was immediate.
I especially love the fact that I can make people feeling good with themselves, wearing pieces of art that they are proud of.
Q:According to the data, in 2010, female tattooists represented only 14.16% of tattooists; in 2021, this figure rose to 24.96%. Since you became a professional tattooist and until now, have you experienced any obstacles due to your gender and, if so, could you please tell us exactly what it is?
A:I need to say that I have never experienced any obstacle because of my gender, probably at the very beginning I had a bad experience because in one studio I asked for the apprenticeship, the guy was behaving in a flirting way, so I decided to go somewhere else. But a part from this, everything flowed pretty easily.
Q:One last question, as mentioned above, the percentage of women tattooists is increasing every year, so please say a few words to women who want to be tattooists, including those who are apprenticing or planning to become tattooists.
A:I would like to say that tattooing is a very rewarding career for everyone who is seriously fond of art. It can be strenuous at time because it is physically and mentally demanding but for sure the pleasure of sharing interests and art with amazing people compensate the stress. I encourage to take inspiration from your favourite artists but also try to explore in parallel new personal ways of expression. Being yourself it is the fastest way to attract your clientele and also being on demand because of style unicity. I think it is a career that suits both genders, especially now that the industry has changed so much and tattoo studios have a more art driven vibe. I wish luck to all the girls willing to start this amazing life changing journey!!!
Q:Hello Marta, please give us a brief introduction of your career experience. Why did you choose tattooing as your career in the first place?
A:Well I always loved drawing, painting etc. and wanted to do something connected with art in life, but later I actually didn't choose art school, but I went for linguistics instead. But when I was 23 and got my first tattoo, I "woke up" and was like "why I haven't thought about having tattoos earlier?!" and then realized that I also want do it myself .
Q:According to the data, in 2010, female tattoo artists accounted for only 14.16% of tattoo artists, in 2021, this figure rose to 24.96%. From the time you became a professional tattoo artist and until now, have you suffered any obstacles because of your gender, and if so, could you please tell us exactly what it is?
A:I can say I was lucky, because I always had a lot of support. Of course there were some obstacles when I was inexperienced, but nobody questioned my talent/hard work because of my gender. Although I have heard some sexist, uncomfortable comments from my co-workers in some places. Or some male co-workers didn't take my opinions seriously. I stopped going to work without my bra under t-shirt because of weird looks (it was a very big difference to my office job, where I felt safe in this aspect). So yeah, I feel that we are still on our way to deconstruct the tattoo industry as a mainly male-dominated branch, but I think we have made it very far, at least in Poland. I was always looking for more inclusive studios and found them all over my country. I personally know more female and queer tattoo artists, the men I know are mainly feminists, and I avoid the old school conventions where you can still feel the "old order."
And now I am opening my own space, that will be even more inclusive and queer-friendly.
Q:One last question, as mentioned above, the percentage of women tattooists is increasing every year, so please say a few words to women who want to be tattooists, including those who are apprenticing or planning to become tattooists.
A:Believe in yourself, don’t let anyone question your worth, and if you see any inappropriate behaviours, don’t be afraid to react. The industry is getting more and more inclusive and there are many places we can feel comfortable in.
We wish every woman to shine in every field.
